When the Women Come out to Dance (2002) (25 page)

"Stay here and grow nuts? Grow, not go, but you can d
o both."

"I want to get the place in shape, hire a family to work i
t and take care of Lydell. I'm thinking of the Raincrows, mak e Preston the working partner. I thought of that driving ove r here."

There was a silence and Denise said, "I have a confession t
o make."

Ben had told her, while they put their clothes back on an
d went out to the kitchen, the situation with the Grooms.

Forty-eight hours to get out, and he didn't think they'
d budge.

"I know those people," Denise said. "I wrote the lease."

"That's your confession? If you hadn't," Ben said, "I doub
t we'd be sitting here. Look at it that way."

"But now Hazen says he wants to buy your place, and he'
s using me to get you two together. You know he's a criminal , or was?"

"I think still," Ben said, "the whole family. Preston looke
d them up."

"Hazen wants to kill you, doesn't he?" her voice quiet a
s she said it.

"Any one of them," Ben said. "And if they do and yo
u know about it and can put them away for life . . ."

Ben watched her cross her legs as she thought about it an
d reach over to pick up her can of beer from the coffee table.

Now she was looking at him again.

"I've been ready for Hazen since the first time I met him.

He comes here with intentions of doing us harm I'll shoo
t him. My dad gave me a gun a long time ago, and I'm license d to carry it. But you know what? You better move your ca r from the drive. Park it in town somewhere."

"It won't be here," Ben said. "I'm meeting Preston later on.

He's looking into the Grooms, see if he can find out, as h
e says, what kind of criminal enterprise they're in. I always lik e talking to Preston."

"So you can stay a while?"

"I'm not in any hurry."

"Tell me some Hollywood stuff."

"Jack Nicholson always carries an ashtray in his pocket."

"What about--like I heard some stars actually do it in their love scenes?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, but I've never been needed o
n that kind of set. What else you want to know?"

"Ben, have you really been thinking about me?"

V.

Preston Raincrow got home and threw a footbal
l around with his two boys, went in the house and kisse d Ophelia and his little girl, smelled what was cooking an d poured himself two ounces of Jim Beam. He sipped on th e drink thinking of Avery Grooms and his two white tras h boys, thinking if Avery was picked up on the detainer an d held for Arkansas, it could cause his boys to act stupid an d become nasty and they could be picked up, too. Preston ha d one more drink for the pleasure of it--he didn't nee d courage--and phoned the young sheriff of Okmulge e County, a reasonable-enough Caucasian boy Preston ha d played football with this time, and told about the detainer.

"Avery Grooms, done most of ninety months, come out an
d must've blew his parole." He said, "You know the Webste r place. That's where he's at." Preston suggested the youn g sheriff bring some backup along, the man had his two son s with him and they weren't likely to sit still, watch their ol d dad taken away cuffed. He listened and said, "Anytime. I'
m always glad to help you out."

The Raincrows were finishing their supper when the phon
e rang. Preston listened to the young sheriff say it was on fo r tonight and he could come if he wanted. Preston sat at th e table again and ate the rest of his rice pudding before callin g Eddie Chocote.

Hazen put aside the early part of the evenin
g to check motels, see where a Ben Webster was registered , came to the Shawnee Inn and the desk clerk said, "Yes sir, h e sure is," but wouldn't give up the room number till Haze n flashed a federal badge and ID he'd bought in Biloxi, Mississippi, and used from time to time and was told, "Room twotwenty, overlooking the patio and the swimming pool." The clerk wanted to know if Mr. Webster was in some kind o f trouble and was told, "He sure is, partner."

Hazen returned to his favorite bar, the dark, smoky one a
t the Best Western, and drank Margaritas while he though t about what to do with Denise. If she'd have come across onc e or twice he'd feel better about her. As cold sexu'lly as th e woman was he believed he could set her afire and bring her t o her . . . get her to come. Hazen thinking now that if Brothe r took care of the movie star that'd be out of the way and he'
d have had nothing to do with it. He could stay around and tak e his time with the real estate lady. If it ever came to putting a pistol on her, like a last resort . . . Hell, he didn't even kno w where he'd aim.

His cell phone made its noise. It was Brother trying t
o keep his voice low. "They come and put handcuffs on Daddy , saying he's going back to Arkansas."

The Margaritas worked to Hazen's favor, allowing him t
o believe he was cool. He asked Brother, "You say anything stupid to 'em?"

"They want to know who I was, see my driver's license. Asked could they look around. Daddy told 'em they could g o fuck theirselves."

Hazen said, "Shit." That kind of talk could bring 'em bac
k with warrants. "They still there?"

"Yeah, they's still here. Jesus Christ, you coming?"

"A bunch of 'em?"

"Three Crown Vics, 'Sheriff' on the doors big. A Tauru
s with 'Muskogee Nation Lighthorseman' on it. They got thei r headlight beams on the house, lightnin' it up. The deputie s are wearing vests and carrying shotguns, like they expect we'
s armed. Daddy's saying, 'I never detained nobody. The hell yo u talking about.' '

"Don't even know he's wanted. Been for five years."

"Hazen, you coming?"

"For what, kiss him goodbye?"

"They's putting him in the car, pushing his head inside.

You don't get over here they gonna be gone."

Hazen said, "I got no business with those people. Soon a
s they leave, come on meet me here at the bar. I found ou t where Mr. Webster's staying."

It quieted Brother. He said, "Yeah?" interested.

"They come with warrants, we don't want to be anywher
e near the place. But I don't want to leave till you take care o f Mr. Webster."

"Why you saying me?"

"You're the one has the score to settle. Look at your goddamn nose. Do what Daddy said, shoot him in the head."

"What're you gonna do?"

"Don't fuck up and I won't have to do nothing."

Preston was with Eddie Chocote, th
e
Lighthorseman, the last one out, trailing the taillights of th e sheriff's cars but not all the way. Eddie killed his lights an d turned from the farm road into the grove of pecan trees, creeping now in the dark, not too far. . . . "Right here," Preston said. Next thing, turn the car around and watch for headlights: going out would be Brother, coming in, most likely Hazen. The plan: if Brother leaves, Eddie follows him to se e where he goes. Preston would stay here and look in the barns.

Maybe even the house.

Eddie said, "Looking for what?"

"I don't know--whatever I find."

Eddie said, "You have your sidearm?"

Preston, getting out of the car, said, "I don't need it. I gav
e it to Ben."

Driving back to the Shawnee Inn he didn'
t think of the Grooms once. It was all Denise, her scent on him , her asking, "Do you really think about me?" And telling he r almost every day.

But not saying it was with a longing, or even understanding why her face kept showing up in his mind, until he saw her again. He was in love with her was the reason. Had alway s been in love with her except . . . Carl was the problem bac k then, Carl and Jesus, Carl getting him bummed about goin g to Hell, while Denise's idea was to "experience life" and sh e dared him to do things with her. Like buying weed in th e black section of Okmulgee, Denise asking the young guy s about their life and listening to stories about dope house busts and guys getting shot, Denise natural, standing there in he r miniskirt, but not putting on any kind of airs, and they wer e nice to her. She talked him into leaving college to get hi s rodeo ticket, and by that time they weren't even seeing muc h of each other.

She had been way ahead of him back then and now he'
d caught up. When they were still on the floor, settling in, an d for a while they were quiet, he said to her, "Denise . . . 'You'r e the reason God made Oklahoma.' "

She looked at him and without changing her expressio
n said, " 'There's a full moon over Tulsa, I hope it's shinin g on you.' "

Ben said, " 'In Cherokee County there's a blue northe
r passin through.' "

Denise said, "Boy, have I missed you."

"I'm surprised you know that one."

"Wayne covered it with some girl, but their cut didn'
t compare to David Frizzell and Shelly West."

"That song'd come on," Ben said, "and if I wasn't thinkin
g of you already I would then."

In the library, on their second beer, she said, "Now tha
t you're a grown man, how many girls have you slept with i n your life?"

He began thinking about it, looking for faces.

She said, "You're counting?"

"You asked how many."

"I meant in round numbers."

"About ten."

"In over twenty years?"

"Wait. Fourteen."

"What'd you have, four at one time?"

"In one afternoon, at a whorehouse in San Francisco. Wit
h some rodeo buddies."

"I bet that was a party. Four times isn't bad."

"Average for a bull rider."

"How about some who weren't hookers?"

"Yeah, about ten. I spent time with a girl when I first wen
t out to the Coast and . . . a couple years with a girl one othe r time."

"You were in love."

"To some extent. The one, we talked about getting marrie
d 'cause she wanted to have a child--even though in Hollywoo d you don't have to be married." He wasn't going to ask Denis e how many men she'd slept with, but thought of somethin g close to it and said, "You ever cheat on your husbands?"

She took her time, close to each other on the couch, an
d put her hand on his thigh. She said, "I gave you the wron g idea. Really, the only reason I asked--I've imagined rode o bunnies and starlets coming at you in packs."

"Packs?"

"Droves. I thought you'd say, modestly, 'Oh, only a fe
w hundred,' and it could be true. I didn't bring it up to compar e notes with you. I was never Denise the piece and I don't slee p around. You want to know if I ever cheated on those tw o jerks? I did once. When I was married to Arthur, bored out o f my mind."

"And a little horny."

"Probably. I could've had a shot at the club tennis pro, bu
t I didn't."

"Who was the guy?" "The UPS man. Arthur goes, 'You're doing what seems t o me an inordinate amount of ordering from catalogues lately.'

Swear to God. The UPS guy was funny and kinda cute, but i
t was recreational, no way it would come to anything." Sh e shrugged and looked at her hand on his leg.

Ben said, "You think you'll marry again sometime?"

She looked up at him, her smart eyes holding his, looke
d away and nodded a couple of times like she was thinkin g about it and came back to him.

"Let's say I'm madly in love."

"Yeah . . . ?"

"And he's the kind of guy isn't afraid to ride a twothousand-pound pissed-off animal with horns."

Ben said, "I doubt he'd step up on one today."

Denise said, "It wouldn't matter." She said, "Ben, I'll marr
y you first thing in the morning if you'll spend the night."

And he said--

He turned off the interstate to pull up in front of th
e Shawnee Inn.

He didn't know what to say and she told him not to sa
y anything if he didn't want to. She said, "I'm not putting yo u on the spot, I'm telling you how I feel."

That was when he said, "But it's like we just met," and sh
e started shaking her head, smiling at him.

Ben went up the stairway and along the hal
l toward his room. He saw the guy at the end of the hall by th e Coke machine, a big guy looking this way, about to pu t money in the machine, but now was coming toward Ben in a hurry--Brother in his cowboy hat--running, pulling a gun, a revolver, from under his jacket. Ben got to 220, shoved th e card in the lock slot and a goddamn red light came on, shove d the card in again and now the green light showed and th e door opened as Brother reached him. All Ben had time to d o was step and jab a left hand hard into the nose with adhesiv e tape on it, stopping Brother long enough for Ben to get in th e room and this time hit Brother in the face with the door as h e tried to swing it closed and heard Brother yell out as he stumbled back, Ben already crossing to the balcony, sliding open the glass and now was looking down at the pool about twent y feet from the building, no lights showing, Ben not knowin g how deep the water was. He heard the door to the hall ban g open and pressed himself against the stonework framing th e balcony, felt handholds between the stones, and hoisted himself to the tarred gravel roof, rolling onto it as Brother reached the balcony.